Geelong - what do we think will happen there

Just wondering if anyone is looking at Geelong Vic for investment now? I know there is a new highway going through there, just wondering if anyone has any opinions on what will happen with property prices and if it's a good area to consider. Especially interested in Grovedale near the Marshall train station.

Would really welcome any of your thoughts.

Its a shame Geelong doesn't have a fast train like in Europe. How cool would it be getting to Melbourne in 20mins!

yes that would be very cool!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...Waurn Ponds looks good.

Right at the end of the ring road, good access to Melb, 15-20mins to Torquay, heaps of shops and infrastructure going in, new 30,000 population development happening behind it and a train station going in (planned).

Ticks all the boxes for me!

Waurn Ponds sounds like a good prospect . I don't really know Geelong all that well except that there is plenty of affordable property there . I think the ring road will be good for the regions further west . Towns like Colac , Camperdown , Terang etc .

Origin Energy have anounced the go ahead for the new gas fired power station out at Mortlake . Construction is planned to begin in December and as Terang and Camperdown are quite close they may catch the wave . There will be several hundred workers there for about two years .

When is the ringroad/bypass due for completion ? I thought there were afew job losses in the automative industry in Geelong ... as for a fast train ... It will probably happen one day and maybe sooner than you might think !

Why are you looking at Geelong SG ?

I am originally from Geelong, family still there, I know the area well. I'm interested in the new ring road, properties are affordable and I know from friends who just recently moved back there (and also some other friends who have investment properties there) that the rental market is tight. Just keeping my eye on things and wondering what other's think. Sounds like it might be something to consider. Grovedale is right next to Waurn Ponds but slightly cheaper in price.

Oddly enough, from what I've seen, similar properties in Grovedale appear to be more expensive than in Waurn Ponds! I can't figure out why, because Waurn Ponds is the more "prestigious" suburb.

That's interesting Tubs, I'm going to look into that some more because I completely agree about Waurn Ponds being most prestigious.

Geelong Property Expo - HOTSPOTS

Hi all,

I attended the Geelong Property Expo in April and they had a buyer's advocate speaking and he gave his thoughts. Just dug out some notes that I took and thought I'd post them:

GEELONG PROPERTY EXPO​

Hot spots – Geelong & Surf Coast.

12/04/08 Mike Walmsley – JPP Buyers Advocates

In Geelong only Norlane is one suburb he provided where you can enter for under 200 K. It’s always tenanted there because it’s affordable and there’s turnover of property between 160,000 to 200,000.

For 200-300K look at:

Belmont: good amenity, shops, High street, river, walking trails, transport and good infrastructure. Advice was to be close to High Street.
Herne Hill: good blocks, close to ring road, but lacking in other infrastructure.
Hamlyn Heights: leafy streets, close to ring road.
Highton: close to ring road
Marshall: railway station going in.

For 400-600K look at:

Drumcondra and Rippleside as they’re close to CBD
East Geelong and South Geelong also close to CBD
Newtown. Shops, cafes, transport, Pakington Street.

For Surf Coast: Jan Juc, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet will all benefit from ring road.
On the Bellarine Peninsula he considered Clifton Springs to be the sleeper and thought it undervalued.

Thanks for sharing all of that info Michael. I really appreciate you sharing that. The Marshall thing is interesting, it's right near Grovedale where I was thinking of purchasing. Norlane is an area I believe is somewhere to stay clear off, the tenants would be less than desirable in my opinion and the area is rough with a capital R.

Great food for thought, thanks again Michael

Hey Shuttergirl,

he did qualify that there were pockets of Norlane to keep away from and others that were better. He did not however specify them during his talk.

I guess it's the ugly duckling factor. Sometimes there's better value there to enter at a low price. Plus you'll always have a tenant at the level it's at, even Centrelink sponsored.

michaelparis said:

12/04/08 Mike Walmsley – JPP Buyers Advocates

In Geelong only Norlane is one suburb he provided where you can enter for under 200 K. It’s always tenanted there because it’s affordable and there’s turnover of property between 160,000 to 200,000.

Click to expand...

Corio is another suburb where you can enter for well under $200k. It's further from Geelong CBD but has better housing stock and has the large and recently expanded Corio Village Shopping Centre.

Examples of cheap Corio houses:

3br Brick $142k needs work http://www.domain.com.au/Public/PropertyDetails.aspx?adid=2007267019

2br Brick $159k http://www.domain.com.au/Public/PropertyDetails.aspx?adid=2007256755

3br Brick $165k http://www.domain.com.au/Public/PropertyDetails.aspx?adid=2007268055 (6% yield)

Marshall: railway station going in.

Click to expand...

Unless there's another planned (unlikely), Marshall station opened in 2005. http://www.railgeelong.com/locations.php?name=Marshall

However Marshall has fewer trains than Geelong and it's a new housing area still being developed with little other transport or infrastructure.

For a 'blue chip' area, I'd pick Newtown, but for convenience, amenities and services, South Geelong or Belmont would be my picks.

Peter

I don't live in Geelong but I work there and spend quite a bit of time there. I'd just like to point out that Corio and Norlane suffer from a serious socio-economic problem. There is a lot of violence and crime in those areas, and I don't just mean from a local perspective. They're somewhat notorious Victoria-wide.

Waurn Ponds is a top area but is still a fair way from Melb - would have to be 80km or so from the city and while I can't comment on how much better the trip will be with the new ring road, at the moment it's a pretty ordinary drive through geelong city and the boulevard until you hit the highway, so it's a concern.

Mind you, I love Geelong and I hate to speak ill of it. I've just spent some time doing research, I'm acutely aware of some issues including the impending demise of the Ford jobs in the area which will have a major economic impact there, and I'm not sure the real estate prices there accurately reflect the investment risk as I see it.

They do have a great football team though

hey all

Parents just moved down to Geelong - have always loved it down there. Moved in to their IP in south Geelong - nice 3 bdrm townhouse.

Gf is from Geelong and she recently bought an older 3 bdrm townhouse in central Geelong. Bought for around $290k i think. Was rented at $220. New tenants paying $290 on short term lease(at her request - was rented out within a week of advertising too!!). Not bad yield for something which hasn't had any work done on it for 20 years.

I will be keeping a look out for more in the future. I also like Sth Geelong. Close to the train station and still a very easy walk to town - my Dad and i did it only the other day when i was down visiting(took around 10-15 mins), and my mum walks in to town for work every day.

In regards to Norlane, there was actually a passionate guy on here a while back arguing Norlane's good points? he was getting pretty good yield, and thinks it is worth the not-so-good tenants for the yield he is getting.

As with everything, i believe having nearby transport (read trains) is the main point. Geelong has this in many places. Will be interesting to see what the future brings Geelong.

Carl said:

hey all

Parents just moved down to Geelong - have always loved it down there. Moved in to their IP in south Geelong - nice 3 bdrm townhouse.

Gf is from Geelong and she recently bought an older 3 bdrm townhouse in central Geelong. Bought for around $290k i think. Was rented at $220. New tenants paying $290 on short term lease(at her request - was rented out within a week of advertising too!!). Not bad yield for something which hasn't had any work done on it for 20 years.

I will be keeping a look out for more in the future. I also like Sth Geelong. Close to the train station and still a very easy walk to town - my Dad and i did it only the other day when i was down visiting(took around 10-15 mins), and my mum walks in to town for work every day.

In regards to Norlane, there was actually a passionate guy on here a while back arguing Norlane's good points? he was getting pretty good yield, and thinks it is worth the not-so-good tenants for the yield he is getting.

As with everything, i believe having nearby transport (read trains) is the main point. Geelong has this in many places. Will be interesting to see what the future brings Geelong.

Click to expand...

Yes that was me I believe,

I actually never ended up purchasing that house, the buyilding inspection came in pretty bad so that stopped all finance as I used it as a clause,

Im glad I didnt end up with the property, from memory the price was 120k which is dirt cheap and it was renting for $150 per week, thats a pretty decent yield but Im much happier I purchased a better investment IMO in my home town with a better yield and much higher compounding capital growth perspectives.

I did do alot of research in Norlane at the time and all the figures showed solid capital growth over the past 20 years and I do still believe that the area will do quite well withing the next few years but anyone purchasing there (if housing commission) should be aware that most will need quite alot of work done in the future but then again prices are very cheap and youre only really going for the big land content when buying older properties, most of them are around 70 years old. I planned on knocking down and building on the block after a few years but Ive moved on now and am happy with my decisions. Geelong, for me is still a little too far from Melbourne and is therefore a little more risky than any major capital city, Theres no doubt that Geelong and surrounds will do OK into the future but there doesnt seem to be much going for it in the long term apart from the new highway, which will be excellent IMO but I dont know of any other major developments planned for the area, especially with Ford closing its doors, that wasnt good.

Ford isnt closing down. Its shedding about 600 jobs, around 1/3 of its workforce. The TAC is moving there shortly, and recently a new building of around 16 stories of offices was approved, so there's a lot of confidence of new business going there.

Also, the uni is starting up a medical degree I believe, which is a large investment.

Well my little cheapie I bought at the end of last year in Corio for $157,000 is going ok now.

After the break in over Christmas, and the tenant that just up and left 1/2 way through a 12 month lease.

I now have a woman with 2 little kids (RE tell me centerlink) So my rent is coming straight from there. After the original tenants left, my rent also went up another $5.

So I'm now getting $195 a week, not too shabby for a cheapie house..

Buying in Geelong

Hi all
I ive in Geelogn & have 2 IP's at teh south end of Highton walking distance to the Waurn ponds Shopping centre.

I am ready to buy my next property using a SMSF I am currently setting up I willb e rolling over $115K using the NAB;s 65% LVR SMSF loan I can spen about $325k.

Some rules I have set for this property is it must be cash flow nuetral (there is no negative gearing & depreciation allowed when buying into a SMSF) Ialso dont want to be putting supplementry super payments to top it up beyond the council rates. I ahve worked out for it to be nuetral with the 65% LVR I need a 6% gross yeild.

So this excludes any properties it he better areas such as the CBD waterfront areas or Newtown etc.
Norlane's yeilds are approx 6% prices are $135 to $180k I could by 2 ex commision homes or a duplex for approx $270k duplex yeild would be a little over 6%. The other option is to buy a brand new house & land package i one of the new estates, Waurn Ponds, Grovedale, Marshall, Leopold, Lara, etc

Any thoughts?

regards
Michael

Whats East Geelong like? I notice alot of stuff just over $200k
Is it ruff? Housing comission?

Bayside said:

Whats East Geelong like? I notice alot of stuff just over $200k
Is it ruff? Housing comission?

Click to expand...

I noticed that too, Bayside.

When I asked the buyers advocate about it he pointed out that those prices were not true East Geelong but rather, a suburb called Thomson. Same postcode as East Geelong and IMO could be an area of spillover as the true East Geelong that abutts South Geelong is actually more expensive.

I saw houses in the high one's and low two's with land over 600 sq m in Jan 2008 when we were there. I dare say the prices have softened since. Not as cheap as Norlane, but had an altogether different feel.

Norlane could however be the ugly duckling. Very affordable with yields around 5.5-6 %